Old Desk to Dining Table

This is one of my favourite transformations so far. Sure, it’s not very fancy and won’t blow your mind though I just adore the unpretentious lines and character-filled patina of this piece.

Here’s the table before, looking very lonely and feeling sorry for itself:

And now:

Originally a teacher’s desk, this old table was missing its drawer and had quite a heavily ‘distressed’ finish after years of service. I found it on eBay for $10 – score!

After an initial tidy up and light all over sand the drawer cavity was filled by gluing and caulking in a piece of scrap timber – much easier and faster than making a whole new drawer. Once dry, two drawer fronts (which I already had thanks to my junk hoarding!) were then glued and clamped over the timber infill to create faux drawers.

One coat of acrylic primer, two acrylic top coats, a light distress and then an acrylic seal coat followed by the addition of two turned timber knobs completes the look of the base.

The honey-toned timber top was badly worn and looked tired though I really wanted to retain its character so I needed to enhance and add depth to the patina. After a light sand, three score lines were added to give the appearance of old boards (you can read that tutorial here) then a diluted walnut stain was wiped on and allowed to seep into all the grooves, marks and gouges before being wiped off.

The stain helps mute the overall tone yet creates subtle variations which gives the timber a tactile appeal. Looking at beautiful old wood like this just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy!

The top was finished with two coats of danish oil. I can’t sing the praises of danish oil highly enough. It’s super easy to apply, provides a protective coating and gives a mellow lustre which is hard to achieve with regular sealers – love it!

HI Kristine, I just love seeing other bloggers tranforming pieces. Can you tell me how you did the score line? YOu have done a wonderful job with this piece I love it. Also the danish oil is that something that you can purchase from Bunnings? Sandy x

Kristine, it’s incredible how you can see the potential in such pieces – if it had have been me I would have walked (or scrolled) straight past this desk/table, but after your transformation, I think it’s absolutely gorgeous. Lee :)

It looks wonderful Kristine! Reading the part about the stain made me laugh because just last night I was trying to explain to my husband he should wipe off the stain…yada yada…and he wouldn’t listen, and well, we know I was right. The table looks amazing! (On a side note, we are leaving a day earlier than expected and I may not be able to pull off the details of featuring you while I’m away…but I would love to do so as soon as I get home! If I can get it done today, you’ll hear from me again!) -shaunna :)

That is beautiful! One of my projects that has been challenging this past week is a coffee table. I am doing the walnut top with the white base, but man have I been having a hard time with the stain!! I am going to have to look into the danish oil to seal it. What color and brand stain do you use? Thank you for coming to my party. This is just what I wanted to see.

This looks wonderful, Kristine! I love the walnut stain on the top ~ I think that has become my new favorite for stains. It seems to look so good with every painted base I’ve seen. Very creative on taking care of the missing drawer, too.

As a teacher, I love this desk. I especially love that you turned it in to a table. Isn’t that the idea behind teaching? Taking something rough and making it more refined? I love it! Thanks for sharing!

wow! it’s gorgeous! You did a fabulous job on that table. Not sure I would have thought about faux drawer fronts…. good thinking!thanks for visiting and commenting on my “half” table.have a great weekend!gail

Coming over from the Shabby Nest Link Party. This is amazing. I work for a school district and believe it or not, there still may be a few of those desks around. I’ll have to keep a look out for when they decide to get rid of them!

Hi Kristine:) I have been away this week and am trying to catch up on my fave gorgeous blogs. What a fabulous post! You have done such a gorgeous makeover on this table, it looks fabulous!! I love the score lines on the top, genius:) Hope you have had a fabulous week ~ Tina x

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